Why coronavirus is ‘wake up call’ against Chinese products
Most Australians are convinced the COVID-19 pandemic has been a “wake up call” and that we should ramp up local manufacturing instead of relying on Chinese goods.
According to a new YouGov poll, which was carried out on behalf of the Australian Workers Union, a staggering 88 per cent of those surveyed said “we should be making more essential products here and be less reliant on imports from China”.
The survey, conducted for the Australian Workers Union, also found that 82 per cent of people wanted the government to use locally-produced items, such as Australian steel, even if it was more expensive.
And 68 per cent said they were now are more likely to look for Australian products to buy than I was before coronavirus.
AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton said the message from Aussie consumers was clear.
“Coronavirus should be the wakeup call our leaders need to stop being petty and just get behind Australian jobs,” Mr Walton said.
“Now more than ever Australians want to be making our essential products here. We don’t want to be reliant on China. And we want Aussie infrastructure to be built from Aussie steel, aluminium, glass, and cement.
“Let’s break the addiction to cheap Chinese imported product. It’s a stupid false economy. Australian-made building materials are not only top quality, they’re globally competitive. But it’s pretty telling that even if they weren’t, four out of five people would want their infrastructure built from Aussie-made materials anyway.”
He said the results had not come as a surprise and that the population has always supported Australian-made products.
“It’s only the government that’s lost sight of that in recent times,” Mr Walton said.
“Hopefully our leaders will start getting the message now. If we back our own industries they’ll grow, become more competitive, and support more jobs.
“We make the best building materials in the world. We should be using them every time the opportunity comes up instead of relying on cheap imports.”
The topic was debated on Sunrise this morning, with the Herald Sun’s Susie O’Brien arguing that “people want to buy Australian” now and that the coronavirus crisis – and particularly the shortage of personal protective equipment proving “how little is made in this country” these days.
“The question is going to be, how much do people want to pay for it?” she said.
The debate comes soon after the relaunch of the classic “Australian Made” campaign in a bid to push Aussies to support local business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By calling on Australians to buy Australian right now, not only will we get products made to some of the highest quality and safety standards in the world, we can create local jobs and economic activity that will aid in the recovery process, while also strengthening our local manufacturing capabilities,” Australian Made Campaign chief executive Ben Lazzaro said in a statement.
“A co-ordinated push to ‘buy local’ has the potential to play a big part in getting Australia back on line.
“So, whether it’s doing the weekly grocery shopping, buying online, sourcing supplies for business or procuring products for major projects, let’s make sure we look for the trusted Australian Made logo to be sure its authentically Australian.”
Mr Lazzaro said there had been a 300 per cent spike in traffic on the organisation’s website since the coronavirus outbreak took hold.
Reproduced from: news.com.au
Alexis Carey – JUNE 5, 202012:46PM – Original Aricle
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